The importance of a Website/Blog

I feel that one of the most important items a Virtual Assistant can have, is a Website, to advertise your business/company on the Internet. As you start up I would suggest you start with a blog (a one page site with lots of information) and progress from there, as you get to know the Virtual Assistant Industry, you move on to having your own website. You can either build your own site or get a reputable company who specialises in web design to create your site for you. There are lots of Virtual Assistants worldwide who offer this service at a discount for other Virtual Assistants.
I advertise my website everywhere on the Internet, all the major SA and overseas search engines. Other VAs will see and view your website, as well as other businesses/companies worldwide.
I am using my website as a help tool for newbie and established VAs within SA. I have filled my pages with articles, Ebooks, job leads, lots of interesting items. My member section is full of information that is very helpful to Virtual Assistants.
Clients will see your website as they search the Internet for a VA. The client will contact you via your contact details which you will advertise on your website. You use your website to advertise the services you provide to clients.
It is up to the individual VA whether or not she places her rates on her site for people to see, some do, some don’t. I don’t put my rates on my site as I feel it draws the client to contact me further.
I use my website as my Internet marketing tool.
You need to keep your content on your website updated, keep adding new content as you need people to keep going back to your site, don’t make your site to fussy, written articles draw clients, links draw clients. Your aim of your site should be to draw clients and Internet browsers back to your site, time and time again. Make your site interesting and easy to read, don’t clutter it with colours, keep things simple and interesting.
An important part of a website is the keywords that you place within your site that will draw your target market to you. Its important to choose the correct words that people search on, I am a Virtual Assistant and some of my keywords are Virtual Assistant, Secretarial, Typing, Administration, these are some of the words that potential clients will use to search for as they look for a Virtual Assistant.
Your website is your Internet presence and it reflects you and your company, so it should be a reflection of who and what you are about, that’s my opinion.
Make sure you do not copy content from other people’s sites, use this website to check your site for coping: http://www.copyscape.com/. There are places on the Internet whereby you can take articles and content for free, it’s easy to search for these via Google etc. If you would like to copy something from another persons site always ask there permissions first, never just copy and paste.
Blogging is another great tool for your business, you can update your blog daily/weekly this will bring traffic to your site. Blogging is fun and there are lots of free blogging sites available. A blog is more informal than a website. Asking for comments on articles, information on your blog is a great way to interactive with other internet users, if you provide good content, people will come back to your blog often. Research the Internet and find out about blogging to give you an idea of what it is about.
My website: http://www.amftyping.co.za